A Plan For BCS Equity Through A Playoff

BigXII vs. SEC
Sugar Bowl
	Semifinal 1
	Rotating BCS Site
Big East vs. ACC
Orange Bowl
		Championship Game
		Rotating BCS Site
Big10 vs. Pac10
Rose Bowl
	Semifinal 2
	Rotating BCS Site
NonBCS* vs. AtLarge**
Fiesta Bowl

 

*The Non-BCS conferences form their own organization to determine their entrants into the BCS tournament. They can sell the television rights, etc.

**The pollsters and computers retain their contribution by selecting the At-Large entrant, the highest ranked non-automatic birth as determined by the current BCS ranking process.

 

Pros:

• The current BCS cities and their bowl organization’s get to keep their game plus an extra game 3 out of 4 years. I cannot see their local chambers of commerce complaining about that.
• Television gets more programming with less competition. Imagine Semifinal Saturday!
• Big 10 and Pac 10 get to keep their traditional Rose Bowl match up.
• Television contract grows. I can see Roy Kramer coming out of retirement to sell this thing to the highest bidder.
• Participant’s payouts grow as they advance. This means more academic and Title IX funding, or whatever. I am sure the university presidents will have no problem spending it.

Cons:

• Harm to non-BCS bowls. This argument was also made when the BCS was created. I am not buying it.
• Season is too long. They have been making this argument for years. Only 4 teams would be required to play extra games with the exception of a play-in system for non-BCS conference champs. Florida played 14 games last year. This system would have required them to play 16 if the 12 game regular season remains. This is a stumbling block due to departments budgeting that twelfth game in indefinitely.
• Impact on academics, please. If the basketball “student-athletes” can do it I believe the football players will manage.
• Scheduling, starting before Jan 1 would be a big problem because competing with NFL Saturday playoff games in January would have to be addressed.

Conclusion:

Obviously, this is not a comprehensive plan. Please consider it a "Plus 3" from 40,000 feet. I have tried to address the core points made by opponents to a playoff. In my opinion, the institutional opposition is mainly about control and finances. This system allows the BCS conferences to retain control and the lion’s share of the pie. History and tradition, very integral parts of college football, simply cannot be overcome. I would like to point out however, that the Rose Bowl has survived, as has the third Saturday in October. Incremental change has been a constant in college football and the game is stronger than ever. Now, let’s make that last push and finally decide a legitimate champion of the football field.